UK ‘must raise its game’ for foreign trade, warns HSBC

The bank believes that there are a number of significant issues facing British exportersChris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty

Britain’s biggest banking group has warned that the Government must overhaul its model for helping businesses to trade overseas if it is to achieve its target of doubling exports by 2020.

HSBC has published an eight-step manifesto that urges the Government to simplify the visa process for companies to make Britain “more welcoming” to future business partners, consider introducing export tax credits for small and medium-sized businesses and set up welcome centres in a number of key markets.

The bank believes that there are a number of significant issues facing British exporters. It said that the UK needed to “raise its game” if it was to capitalise on burgeoning emerging markets. “Britain’s businesses are among the most innovative and imaginative in the world. In recent…